Intercellular calcium signaling and flash photolysis of caged compounds. A sensitive method to evaluate gap junctional coupling.

Abstract

AbstractCommunication is a fundamental paradigm of multicellular systems, and neighboring cells can exchange signals either by paracrine or juxtacrine communication (1). In addition, cells that are coupled by gap junctions can communicate by the passage of electrical signals or by the diffusion of messenger molecules or ions through these junctions. Cardiac myocytes are extensively coupled by gap junctions to form a functional syncytium and are a good example of cells that communicate by electrical signals. Examples of nonexcitable, gap junctional coupled cells that communicate by the diffusion of intracellular messengers or ions are glial cells (2,3), airway epithelial cells (4,5), lens epithelial cells (6,7), hepatocytes (8,9), and endothelial cells (10,11). In these cells, propagating increases in intracellular free Ca2 ± concentration ([Ca2+]i) spread in all directions and over many rows of cells to form intercellular Ca2+ waves, and these are believed to form a major mechanism of cell communication (12). KeywordsAstrocyte CultureFlash PhotolysisLens Epithelial CellICCD CameraCage CompoundThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.